Zooplankton as Indicators to Detect and Track the Degree of Acid-Stress to Lake Ecosystems
A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Biology, University of Regina. xiii, 70 l. It is critical to identify and use appropriate ecological indicators to detect, monitor and assess the impac...
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Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina
2012
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10294/3562 http://ourspace.uregina.ca/bitstream/handle/10294/3562/Anas_Mohamed_Usoof_Mohamed_MSC_BIOL_Fall2012.pdf |
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ftunivregina:oai:ourspace.uregina.ca:10294/3562 2023-10-09T21:51:36+02:00 Zooplankton as Indicators to Detect and Track the Degree of Acid-Stress to Lake Ecosystems Anas, Mohamed Usoof Mohamed Wessel, Bjoern Leavitt, Peter Scott, Ken Donald, David B. 2012-05 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/10294/3562 http://ourspace.uregina.ca/bitstream/handle/10294/3562/Anas_Mohamed_Usoof_Mohamed_MSC_BIOL_Fall2012.pdf en eng Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina http://hdl.handle.net/10294/3562 TC-SRU-3562 http://ourspace.uregina.ca/bitstream/handle/10294/3562/Anas_Mohamed_Usoof_Mohamed_MSC_BIOL_Fall2012.pdf Lake acidification--Saskatchewan Freshwater zooplankton--Effect of water acidification on--Saskatchewan Lake ecology--Saskatchewan Athabasca Tar Sands (Alta.)--Environmental aspects--Saskatchewan Oil sands--Environmental aspects--Saskatchewan Thesis 2012 ftunivregina 2023-09-16T22:16:33Z A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Biology, University of Regina. xiii, 70 l. It is critical to identify and use appropriate ecological indicators to detect, monitor and assess the impacts of environmental stressors on natural systems in order to effectively legislate, protect and restore ecosystems. Based on strong and predictable community responses to acid-stress, crustacean zooplankton has the potential to be a crucial indicator of acidification in freshwater ecosystems. This thesis is based on evaluating the potential of zooplankton as indicators to detect and track the degree of impact of recent acid deposition on Canadian Shield lakes in north-west parts Saskatchewan. These systems may now be at risk as the area is downwind of growing oil-sand operations near Fort McMurray, Alberta, a significant emission source of acidifying agents. Yet, to this point chemical data from past and recent studies of these lakes have not led to any consensus in respect to the degree of impact. In contrast to chemical inferences, concurrent sampling of crustacean zooplankton communities in these lakes indicated strong symptoms of acid-stress, including: 1) distinction of lakes based on species assemblages with different acid tolerances, 2) species-environment relationships strongly related to acid sensitivity, 2) unusually low species richness, 4) low frequency of occurrence of acid-sensitive taxa/species, and 5) opposite trends in changes of relative abundances of acid-sensitive and acid-tolerant taxa/species along the acid-sensitivity gradient. I propose that these responses resulted from seasonal or short-term pH alterations (rather than chronic acidification), which can be critical during early stages of acidification, This emphasizes the importance of biological indicators to assess acid-stress, because biological responses can occur prior to long-term chemical responses are detectable. Subsequently, I ... Thesis Fort McMurray oURspace - The University of Regina's Institutional Repository Alta Fort McMurray |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
oURspace - The University of Regina's Institutional Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivregina |
language |
English |
topic |
Lake acidification--Saskatchewan Freshwater zooplankton--Effect of water acidification on--Saskatchewan Lake ecology--Saskatchewan Athabasca Tar Sands (Alta.)--Environmental aspects--Saskatchewan Oil sands--Environmental aspects--Saskatchewan |
spellingShingle |
Lake acidification--Saskatchewan Freshwater zooplankton--Effect of water acidification on--Saskatchewan Lake ecology--Saskatchewan Athabasca Tar Sands (Alta.)--Environmental aspects--Saskatchewan Oil sands--Environmental aspects--Saskatchewan Anas, Mohamed Usoof Mohamed Zooplankton as Indicators to Detect and Track the Degree of Acid-Stress to Lake Ecosystems |
topic_facet |
Lake acidification--Saskatchewan Freshwater zooplankton--Effect of water acidification on--Saskatchewan Lake ecology--Saskatchewan Athabasca Tar Sands (Alta.)--Environmental aspects--Saskatchewan Oil sands--Environmental aspects--Saskatchewan |
description |
A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Biology, University of Regina. xiii, 70 l. It is critical to identify and use appropriate ecological indicators to detect, monitor and assess the impacts of environmental stressors on natural systems in order to effectively legislate, protect and restore ecosystems. Based on strong and predictable community responses to acid-stress, crustacean zooplankton has the potential to be a crucial indicator of acidification in freshwater ecosystems. This thesis is based on evaluating the potential of zooplankton as indicators to detect and track the degree of impact of recent acid deposition on Canadian Shield lakes in north-west parts Saskatchewan. These systems may now be at risk as the area is downwind of growing oil-sand operations near Fort McMurray, Alberta, a significant emission source of acidifying agents. Yet, to this point chemical data from past and recent studies of these lakes have not led to any consensus in respect to the degree of impact. In contrast to chemical inferences, concurrent sampling of crustacean zooplankton communities in these lakes indicated strong symptoms of acid-stress, including: 1) distinction of lakes based on species assemblages with different acid tolerances, 2) species-environment relationships strongly related to acid sensitivity, 2) unusually low species richness, 4) low frequency of occurrence of acid-sensitive taxa/species, and 5) opposite trends in changes of relative abundances of acid-sensitive and acid-tolerant taxa/species along the acid-sensitivity gradient. I propose that these responses resulted from seasonal or short-term pH alterations (rather than chronic acidification), which can be critical during early stages of acidification, This emphasizes the importance of biological indicators to assess acid-stress, because biological responses can occur prior to long-term chemical responses are detectable. Subsequently, I ... |
author2 |
Wessel, Bjoern Leavitt, Peter Scott, Ken Donald, David B. |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Anas, Mohamed Usoof Mohamed |
author_facet |
Anas, Mohamed Usoof Mohamed |
author_sort |
Anas, Mohamed Usoof Mohamed |
title |
Zooplankton as Indicators to Detect and Track the Degree of Acid-Stress to Lake Ecosystems |
title_short |
Zooplankton as Indicators to Detect and Track the Degree of Acid-Stress to Lake Ecosystems |
title_full |
Zooplankton as Indicators to Detect and Track the Degree of Acid-Stress to Lake Ecosystems |
title_fullStr |
Zooplankton as Indicators to Detect and Track the Degree of Acid-Stress to Lake Ecosystems |
title_full_unstemmed |
Zooplankton as Indicators to Detect and Track the Degree of Acid-Stress to Lake Ecosystems |
title_sort |
zooplankton as indicators to detect and track the degree of acid-stress to lake ecosystems |
publisher |
Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10294/3562 http://ourspace.uregina.ca/bitstream/handle/10294/3562/Anas_Mohamed_Usoof_Mohamed_MSC_BIOL_Fall2012.pdf |
geographic |
Alta Fort McMurray |
geographic_facet |
Alta Fort McMurray |
genre |
Fort McMurray |
genre_facet |
Fort McMurray |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10294/3562 TC-SRU-3562 http://ourspace.uregina.ca/bitstream/handle/10294/3562/Anas_Mohamed_Usoof_Mohamed_MSC_BIOL_Fall2012.pdf |
_version_ |
1779314731734007808 |